Field Factors receives 100K from Dutch Postcode Lotteries

The Dutch start-up Field Factors – who is one of the partners in the EIT Climate-KIC innovation project ‘Bluebloqs Circular Water System’ – was one of the finalists of the Postcode Lotteries Green Challenge 2019. Together with other four green start-ups from Great Britain, Germany and Sweden, they pitched their solution in the final of the annual sustainability competition of the Postcode Lottery on 3 October.

The Green Challenge is an annual international competition in the field of sustainability innovation that encourages and supports start-ups in taking their business to the next level. Out of 1.167 applications from all over the world, they have been picked amongst the final five for this year’s edition. Desolonator, a start-up we also have supported, was one of the another finalists. With a place in the final, the finalists were guaranteed to win at least 100,000 euros each. 

The Bluebloqs of Field Factors
Bluebloqs is a nature-based scalable solution for decentralised water management in urban areas, avoiding flooded streets and guaranteeing freshwater availability. By locally collecting, treating and storing storm water through an integrated circular water system, storm water can be reused to meet the local freshwater demand. The system can be implemented at building, property or neighbourhood level, adding green to existing infrastructure or retrofitting projects with a minimum use of space. In this way, Bluebloqs will have an impact on catalysing the transition towards a natural urban water cycle.

Innovation project Bluebloqs Circular Water System
Field Factors tested and implemented the Bluebloqs in a full-scale pilot application in the Urban Waterbuffer project at the Sparta Stadium in Rotterdam. By being part of the Innovation Project of EIT Climate-KIC, they now have the opportunity to set the first steps to European-wide impact. Other participating partners are: Technical University Delft, Technical University Madrid and Aquafin.

At this moment, the demonstrations take place in four locations in three different climate zones. The implementation in totally different local ecosystems will provide the opportunity to overcome systemic barriers such as social, procedural, technological and economical barriers that not only together prevent market uptake, but also individually differ per location, which is often the case of Nature Based Solutions and other innovations delivering multi stakeholder benefits.

Create green and resilient cities
The main objective of this innovation project is to accelerate the transition towards decentralised urban water systems to create green and climate resilient cities through the development of demonstration projects, underpinned by a transformative strategy for scaling at system level. 

The specific objectives are:

1. To implement and test Bluebloqs in four demo sites within different local ecosystems, gathering empirical evidence to optimise technical performance of the system within the social, institutional, climate and economic context.
2. To enhance social acceptance and stakeholder engagement for the uptake of the solution by showcasing the Bluebloqs system through demonstration projects throughout Europe. 
3. To support the wider implementation by developing a road map to market uptake, based on a sustainable business model, an optimised system configuration, a product-service line and scaling strategy.
4. To inspire the transition towards urban decentralise water systems and facilitate their future implementation by developing a vision on a grid of green circular systems for water management and supply.

For more information about this project, contact Julian Swinkels.